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CFIA bargaining: Concessions remain at the table

Our bargaining team met with the employer in Ottawa from June 20 to 22, 2017.

After much delay, the two parties met for three days in Ottawa and were able to sign off on a few amendments to the collective agreement including:

definition of the family

no discrimination

leave for family related responsibilities

bereavement leave

The Employer also removed their demand to roll-back sick leave provisions in the collective agreement.

Employer concessions remain

Despite the positive movement, bargaining remains slow and the employer continues to maintain a number of serious concessionary demands at the table. These demands are advanced under the pretext of "Agency transformation" but in fact they will roll back current protections in the collective agreement in the areas of hours of work, scheduling, and overtime Pay.

Our team is committed to making improvements to our collective agreement and is rejecting concessions that would compromise our rights and benefits.

Next bargaining session

The two parties have agreed to tentative dates in early fall to resume bargaining. Our team remains hopeful that a negotiated settlement can be reached soon but maintains our position that the employer must withdraw all concessionary demands related to so-called “Agency transformation”.

Our bargaining team is committed to building for the future with a strong collective agreement that will provide for a strong work-life balance.